If you want to get technical the maximum range for point defense is short range if another ship has point defense system and the Point Defense /2 software, for an individual ship it would be adjacent at under 1km range.

We know how real life close in weapons systems work, very foggy how the High Guard variant is supposed to, since I would have assumed a gatling type pulse laser; twenty tonnes is either a series of linked turrets or barbettes, or a mini bay.

In either case, range tells me how far away I can play patty cake with Space Marines, probably grav tanks.

And if a fighter was unlucky enough to pass within range, if I could shoot it down.

Point Defense systems are dedicated to handling missile / torpedo salvoes and would include dedicated sensors to optimize response. Laser turrets are dual mode weapons and can be used to augment point defense while lowering offensive actions.

Going by the computer programme that extends the point defence protection to other ships, it would seem the range is short.

They might actually be slightly larger than smallcraft sized variants.

This begs the question of can point defence batteries take advantage of the "Primitive and Advanced Spacecraft" rules to reduce their size and/or power usage? It seems to me that they're included in the Weapons section. Or am I reading too much into it?

SSWarlock wrote: ↑
This begs the question of can point defence batteries take advantage of the "Primitive and Advanced Spacecraft" rules to reduce their size and/or power usage? It seems to me that they're included in the Weapons section. Or am I reading too much into it?

I certainly allow it.

I don't allow zero-cost disadvantages, such as Inaccurate (PD is technically not an Attack roll).